Reflections from Week 2 EDLD 5301

I hope that everyone had a relaxing Thanksgiving! Mine has been very busy and good with family, masters work, and football practice.

I reflect on what I have worked on this past week in regards to action research. I had the opportunity to watch three Dr.'s comment on how action research is being utilized in their districts. I thought that these interviews were very informative. It was a real life example of the things we are learning about in our Research class being applied in educational settings. I was able to identify my action research project that I will undertake and meet with my site supervisor to discuss the project. I am looking forward to this process as I get deeper into our masters program.

Enjoy the rest of ya'll's week off and the last push till Christmas break!

EDLD 5301 Action Research Project

I aspire to be an athletic director one day and I decided to look into some action research on whether or not participating in extra curricular athletics had an effect on student attendance. I think it would be beneficial for an administrator in a school and an athletic director to know whether or not participation in athletics of some sort had an impact on a students attendance. The spectrum would need to be broad weighing both males and females, participants and non-participants, and taking into account their grades as well. I hypothesize that participation in athletics will attribute to better attendance and ultimately better grades. I am interested to see what my results reveal. If my hypothesis is correct then it may be beneficial to encourage students to participate in extra curricular activities.

Educational Leaders Blog Usage

I think that the use of blogs by educational leaders could be very beneficial. Even if an administrator or leader just uses the blog as a note for himself and does not share it, he/she can still look back on what he noted on particular subjects and note how things have changed or improved and make adjustments accordingly. If he/she chooses to share the blog, then they are opening their thoughts and projects up for critique and other ideas from others experiences. Either way they can be very beneficial to those that use them.

Thoughts on Action Research

Action research, in my opinion, is a very good idea for the educational setting. Many times school districts and schools will use outside research and traditional forms of educational research when those "outside researchers" and the traditional forms may not fit best for their particular school setting. From the text Dana talks about the outside "experts" giving their take on a particular situation and what they feel would be the best fit or fix. Principals then act to ensure that the suggestions of the "outside" sources are being practiced. By using action research, it provides a sense of ownership to the administrators and teachers that are involved. My thoughts are, "who knows your students, parents, and teachers better?" Is it the collegiate researcher that devises a plan based on a blanket view of all schools and school districts? or might it be the teachers and administrators that are currently invested in the success of the school and its shareholders? Action research allows for teachers and administrators to seek out problems and issues in their own school and district and to be the ones that come up with the solution.

Introduction

So, this would be my first attempt at blogging and I'm not sure yet what I think. I am a teacher and coach in the Dallas metroplex at a successful high school. I will use this blog to track my Action Research throughout the pursuit of my masters degree.